Unexpected path leads Hamilton's Lubbers family to great joy

Wednesday

Jan 1, 2014 at 7:02 AM

By Phyllis McCrossinSentinel contributor

New life. New joy. New year.For Robb and Katie Lubbers of Holland, 2013 was a year of miracles and the continuing celebration of their growing family. The New Year promises more of the same.Theirs is a story of love, hope and faith.“We were high school sweethearts,” Robb explained. “We met on a youth group mission trip and have always been together since.”Robb, a sales manager for K & R Truck Sales, and Katie, a hair stylist, were married in 2005 and in late 2007 were excited to find they would soon be a family of three. Their joy was short lived, however, as in February 2008 Katie went into pre-term labor. Their son Brenham was born at 21 weeks. He lived just a few minutes and then the couple was left with an emptiness in their lives that few can comprehend.While still struggling with the loss of their son, four weeks later Katie was back in the hospital in renal failure. The prognosis was rather bleak. Katie would have to be put on dialysis while they waited for a kidney donor.“I had been diagnosed with kidney disease when I was 16,” Katie said. “But the symptoms went away and we sort of forgot about it. Oh, we always knew the disease was there, but it didn’t seem to affect me anymore.”The waiting list for a kidney donor is long and Katie started dialysis. In the meantime, family members all volunteered to be tested to see if one of them would be a match.“Everyone was a match — including Robb — and after a lot of prayer, I chose my younger sister as a donor,” Katie said.In October 2008, Katie, Robb and Katie’s sister Mindy Roelofs made the trip to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., for the surgery.The surgery went well. Mindy was allowed to go home after four days and Robb and Katie spent the next four weeks in Rochester making certain Katie’s body would not reject the new kidney. The medication Katie must take for the rest of her life to help her body accept the new kidney also suppresses her immune system. So Katie must be extra careful.The doctors also warned Katie and Robb to wait two to five years before thinking about becoming pregnant again.After much deliberation and prayer, the couple decided to look into adoption.“We went through Bethany Christian Services,” Robb said. “We attended several adoption events and after a lot of prayer, decided to go the domestic route rather than adopting internationally.”As a part of the process, prospective parents complete what is called a “Profile Book,” which basically tells the story of the adoptive parents. Pregnant women are given the opportunity to look through the book and choose the prospective parents.“I was a little nervous,” Katie said. “Would a young woman reading the book want to give her child to a woman with one kidney?”Evidently the answer was a resounding "yes."The wait was not as long as the Lubbers expected. Five months later, Grayden Lubbers became a part Katie and Robb’s lives.“Grayden brought so much joy into our lives,” Katie said. “He was an answer to prayers.”The family settled into a routine, adjusting as all new parents do. Learning to live with a new life. Filling the needs of a small bundle of joy so dependent, so precious.It was during this time, at a routine doctor visit, Katie was informed her body had adjusted so well to the kidney transplant that they could go ahead and have another baby.“But we decided to adopt again,” Robb said. “We spent a lot of time in prayer and it just seemed God was leading us to adoption. We’ve never thought of this as a second-best option. Adoption is super-special and there is a big need.”The couple announced their decision to adopt again and, in April 2011, the Lubbers welcomed another son, Sadler, into the family.Life, once again, settled into a routine.But Katie and Robb continued to think about the possibility of another pregnancy.“We consulted three doctors and they all said it would be okay,” Katie said. “It would be considered a ‘high risk’ pregnancy, but there was no reason not to have a baby.”So the couple planned and gathered all the information they could and turned to prayer.In April , they learned they were going to have a baby.“The pregnancy went well,” Katie said. “I had lab work and check-ups every two weeks for the entire pregnancy. And I spent the last two weeks on bed rest … but the pregnancy went well.”On Dec. 13, Katie and Robb became the parents of their third child, a girl Jovie Breann.“Faith has been a big part of this,” Robb said. “God has blessed us in many ways and we have learned from this. We’ve learned to take the things God has given us and grow with them. There have been lots of ups and downs, but if not for faith, we would have given up."We have found strength in the Bible verse, Jeremiah 29:11: ‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’”